Dozens of bright yellow waste bins have been appearing in one Maryland Heights neighborhood this year as part of a program that’s among the first of its kind in Missouri, St. Louis County officials say. The bins were given out this July as part of a government-funded residential food waste pickup program , said Ian Ashcraft with the St. Louis County Department of Public Health.
At no cost to them, residents of the Brookside subdivision could opt in to the program that provides weekly pickup of combined food and yard waste through Republic Services. The waste is transferred to Total Organics Recycling, which also does food waste collection from grocery stores, restaurants and institutions such as Busch Stadium, the St. Louis Zoo and Washington University.
The waste becomes compost that can be used in soil throughout St. Louis, the company says. The $26,340 cost is paid for by a landfill dumping fee that must go to waste diversion programs in the county. The pilot will last through June . If it’s successful, food waste pickup may expand to other areas of the county, Ashcraft said. “The idea was that this would be a test to see if this is something people would actually do and if the model could work,” Ashcraft said.
Brookside was chosen as the pilot neighborhood because there was already a high participation in recycling, Ashcraft said. So far about 90 of the 800 residences in the neighborhood have opted in to the new program. The initial goal was to have about 400 participants, according to grant documents. The county is still working on educating residents and promoting the program, Ashcraft said.
Each home received a small container to collect food waste for the kitchen and a 35-gallon yellow container where they can put yard waste and food scraps when they take it to the curb. The containers lock to keep out wildlife . “The end goal is for it to go countywide,” said Sarah Koziatek, marketing coordinator with Total Organics Recycling. “But our biggest hurdle is contamination. It’s been a problem for other composters who have tried this in other states.”
Residents can put any type of food into the bins, but just one piece of cardboard or plastic in the bin can contaminate the waste, Koziatek said.
“So far, the residents are doing an amazing job,” she said.